Why didn't Dave Wottle keep running?

Wottle was part of that short-lived and ill-fated pro track circuit beginning in 1974. He would not have been eligible for the 1976 Olympics.

He struggled with a number of injuries.

Remember back in those days there was limited to no money available for runners, even if you were a gold medalist, as he was. And one has to make a living and pay the bills........living on canned spaghetti 0's and trying to train full time on a shoestring budget takes its toll. Wottle used to train with us periodically (University of Akron) following his Olympic performance, was still very fast.

what does Wottle do now to pay the bills? I hope he has been able to make a lil sumpin sumpin off that gold medal he won and the hat... I know Billy Mills does very well doing speaking engagements, I know they have two very different stories but both have the same result, I bet Wottle has a good story to tell.

He's Dean of Admissions at Rhodes College in Memphis.

Cool, good to know he is doing well... Geez I couldn't imagine how tuff it was in the 70's to try to be a world class athlete (Amateur not Shamateur) and survive from one Olympic games to the next? Alot of these youngsters don't realize that even into the late 80's early 1990's TAC (precursor to the USTaf) controlled what little money most made above the table.....

seems like a great guy!!

Everytime I see the race, I still wonder if he's going to make it to the finish line first!

pert wrote:

Everytime I see the race, I still wonder if he's going to make it to the finish line first!

Funny you say that because I've seen him speak to high school teams 3-4 times over the years. Each time while showing the film he almost convinces you that he is not sure how it is going to turn out.

He faced lots of injuries. It is a shame because the 1500 may have been his better event including a 3:53 mile win over Pre at Hayward Field, one of Pre's few home losses.

He ran a mile race against Pre at Hayward field sometime after he won his gold in a benefit to raise money. I'm pretty sure it was to build the West grandstand bleachers at Hayward that is there today.

Pre offered to pace Wottle for a World record attempt. Wottle didn't make it. But it does go to show why Pre is rightly so honored today. Running a race that he knows he is going to lose to help raise money for somebody else.

Anyway, if you ever sit in the West Grandstand at Hayward you can partly thank Wottle for that.

Wottle finished his collegiate eligibility at Bowling Green in 1973, running 3:53.something against Pre at the Hayward Field Restoration Meet, now known as the Prefontaine Classic.

In 1974 he joined up with the professional International Track Association but barely ran in it at all. This action forfeited his amateur status but I doubt he was going to use it anyway. His ITA jersey was among sports collectibles owned by noted Ohio "Coingate" money-launderer Tom Noe that were auctioned off by the state a few years back.

In 1975 Wottle became track coach at Walsh (OH) College, and in 1977 he took the job at Bethany (WV) College.

As previously said, he is now dean of admissions at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN.

Sad thing about this story is that BGSU no longer even has a men's track program. Nothing on the Universities website under athletics even references his greatness. There is a small banner hanging in the corner of the fieldhouse and NOTHING on the outdoor track. There is a sign when you pull on to campus off I-75 honoring Scott Hamilton the figure skater who was from Bowling Green...but no mention of Wottle. Some day I am going to e-mail the mayor, the President of the university and the athletic director and ask why. Even if there was some bad blood for some reason, it should never diminish the significance of what he did

It is a shame that there is very little recognition of Dave Wottle's accomplishments at BGSU, but every local runner I know values his achievement and is proud that he represented the area so well.

Ask him.

wottle@rhodes.edu

Ryan Foreman wrote:

He ran a mile race against Pre at Hayward field sometime after he won his gold in a benefit to raise money. I'm pretty sure it was to build the West grandstand bleachers at Hayward that is there today.

Pre offered to pace Wottle for a World record attempt. Wottle didn't make it. But it does go to show why Pre is rightly so honored today. Running a race that he knows he is going to lose to help raise money for somebody else.

Anyway, if you ever sit in the West Grandstand at Hayward you can partly thank Wottle for that.

You can also thank Salazar, Chapa, Centrowitz Sr., The McChesney's (Tom, Steve, Bill, and their parents), Art B., Mike Friton, and the rest of the 77 Duck Squad who helped finish building it. (Myself included), And last but not least the hoards of Eugene businesses and locals who helped get it done.

on the runs wrote:

He's Dean of Admissions at Rhodes College in Memphis.

No way! Dude's gotta get me in with their philo dep't. He'll be really impressed that I run one six for the five k!

Cool. My daughter got a recruiting call last week from the track/XC coach at Rhodes College.

I just showed her the Youtube video of Wottle's gold medal run.

"No way," she said.

It's a great school but she wants to go to a bigger program.

Regardless, she was impressed with the Wottle story and race. I got to give her history lesson in Track & Field.

In addition to being her dad, I'm also the coach of her HS track and XC teams. It's amazing how little interest the kids take in the history of their sport, my daughter included.

After mentioning Dave Wottle, I watched his 1972 victory in the 800. Possibly my fiftieth time watching this particular race!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHid-nC45k

I couldn’t help but notice Mike Boit: the 3rd place finisher from Kenya. I looked up his biography on Wikipedia and was impressed by his strong education and running ability.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Boit

Anybody have further info on Boit? Additionally, why did Kenya boycott the 1976 games?

Kenya and close to all the other African nations boycotted because New Zealand's rugby team toured South Africa in early '76. They wanted the IOC to ban the Kiwis from the Games for it, which was probably a bit harsh because rugby wasn't an Olympic sport.

Boit came to BGSU a few years ago. There's a sizable Kenyan student population there and they organized an AIDS benefit 5k every spring. One year they booked Kip Keino to come but he backed out. The next year they booked Boit and he actually came.

I signed up for the race in the student union and the flyer talked about Boit. I was really excited and the Kenyan students were surprised I knew who Boit was.

Boit got hi Ph.D. from Oregon in the 80s and is now a prof of exercise science at Kenyatta University in Nairobi. He retired from running in 1990 when he broke a master's indoor mile record at The Meadowlands. Eleven years ago he was in a bad car accident that broke both his legs and killed three people. You'd never know it from looking at him now.

Boit was Kenya's Commissioner of Sports starting in the 80s and is one of the principle reasons for Kenya's explosion in running. He freed up travel restrictions on Kenyan runners and invited foreign agents into the country.

Yummy wrote:

After mentioning Dave Wottle, I watched his 1972 victory in the 800. Possibly my fiftieth time watching this particular race!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHid-nC45k

I couldn’t help but notice Mike Boit: the 3rd place finisher from Kenya. I looked up his biography on Wikipedia and was impressed by his strong education and running ability.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Boit

Anybody have further info on Boit? Additionally, why did Kenya boycott the 1976 games?

That guy had the most beautiful running form of anybody I've ever personally seen. I saw him running quarters on the track at Hayward Field. It looked like he was running easily. I timed one and it was a 52!

Later I was running a workout on Amazon Trail. I was running fairly fast, but this tall black guy went by like I was standing still. He was totally smooth and silent. Mike Boit. Class guy. Great athlete. Too bad he couldn't race Juantorena in the '76 Olympics. It would have been a monumental battle. (They did race the next year. Juantorena won by a hair.)